“And so it was kind of like, I want to be the first female hockey player in the NHL type of thought.” The ambition of becoming an NHL coach was never on Jessica Campbell’s horizon. Yet, as the word of her high-tempo skating sessions in Kelowna spread, and she made waves in her coaching stints in Sweden, Germany, and the AHL, the Seattle Kraken came calling with the assistant coach job. The fact that Campbell had made history was not lost on anybody. “We’re going to see a woman behind the bench for the first time in the National Hockey League and it’s monumental,” said the Kraken HC Dan Bylsma. But neither Bylsma nor the Kraken did it for the sole sake of making history. The goal for them “was to get the best coach — and it happened to be Jessica Campbell.”
Unfortunately, not everyone saw it that way.
What followed were hate and trolls that were consistent with how players in the PWHL have often been treated. However, in a welcome gesture, the NHL and the NHLPA have come out in criticism of the same to mark Women’s History Month. The NHLPA posted a video on X, calling out some of the comments that improper comments that were directed towards the history-making coach and other female hockey players. “There’s still work to do. #NHLWomensHistory,” the post read, while offering support and spreading awareness.
There’s still work to do. #NHLWomensHistory pic.twitter.com/Unf1H0i3MY
— NHLPA (@NHLPA) March 31, 2025
This is a developing story. Stay Tuned…
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